A longtime computer engineer for Arizona’s court system was arrested on Tuesday after he was caught in a police sting trying to meet a 14-year-old girl at a Gilbert park for sex. Merrill Barton Nelson III, 57, of Gilbert, an 11-year employee of the Arizona Supreme Court, was booked into…
From the spare prose of a Glendale Police Department report emerges the macabre scene that confronted police officers and students at Independence High School, a little before 8 a.m. on the morning of February 12. That’s when police, responding to reports of shots fired, rushed through morning traffic and parents…
Glendale police say they’re submitting felony charges against the teen who provided the gun in the pre-Valentine’s Day murder-suicide of two teen girls at their high school. The families of both of the deceased 15-year-old girls in the February 12 incident at Independence High School don’t wish the boy, who’s…
The former Scottsdale beauty salon owner convicted in 2002 of killing and dismembering her husband is awaiting deportation to France following her release last month from prison. Valerie Pape, 63, became a celebrity murderer after her arrest in 2000 for the gory slaying of her husband, Ira Pomerantz. The case…
A Canadian man who tried to sell high-quality dinosaur fossils smuggled out of China to undercover agents at a Tucson gem show last year is getting booted out of the country and fined $25,000. Jun Yang of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, was caught hawking a rare, scientifically valuable fossil of…
Six people are dead following a horrific scene in Phoenix early this morning in which police drew gunfire as they tried to rescue people inside a burning home. “You know, I heard things this morning and saw things as I’m down here that I haven’t seen in 30 years. I’ve…
There must be 50 ways to leave your lover, goes the old Paul Simon tune, but most of them do not involve murder, mayhem, and the occasional car bomb. Here are 15 that we do not recommend you imitate, performed in various violent ways over the years by Arizonans. …
A girl suspected of killing her friend and then killing herself at Glendale’s Independence High School on Friday borrowed the murder weapon from a classmate, who took it from his home, police said this afternoon. Glendale cops released scant new details about the tragedy today, continuing to refuse to name…
The other day, Tiffany Diba’s 5-month-old dog, Colby, followed her command to “sit” and “stay” in a busy store for the first time. The curly-haired shepherd-labrador-retriever mix perked up his ears as she slowly backed away — 5 feet, 10 feet, 15 feet. He squirmed with the urge to bound…
A mother and her lawyer are hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court shows more common sense than Arizona courts have so far in the case of accused child molester Chris Simcox, who is bound and determined to personally cross-examine his child victims, two girls, ages 8 and 9. Phoenix attorney…
Many questions remain in last week’s tragic murder-suicide at Glendale’s Independence High School that left two 15-year-old girls dead, including who pulled the trigger. The bodies of Dorothy Dutiel and May Kieu were found near an administration building on Friday morning, prompting a security lockdown and early release. Glendale police…
An Ohio man who claims he was stealing to feed his family is accused of holding up 36 Phoenix-area convenience stores and gas stations in the past seven weeks. From December 20 to February 9, federal court records show, Anthony Wayne Hamilton, who’s 25 or 26, threatened victims repeatedly in…
A former priest suspected of killing a second-grade school teacher in 1960 has been arrested in Scottsdale and officially charged with murder. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department’s Criminal Apprehension and Surveillance Team, coordinating with two Texas agencies, the Texas Rangers and the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office, detained John Feit…
Seated in the waiting room of his empty Phoenix office, defense attorney Kirk Nurmi appears beaten and battle weary. Since gaining notoriety defending convicted murderer Jodi Arias, Nurmi has lost 75 pounds, and his clothing drapes loosely on his deflated frame. Yet, at 6-foot-2 and still rotund, he remains an…
A group of Arizona lawmakers are using a new bill to take aim at the educational and leadership qualifications of Greg McKay, director of the Department of Child Safety. House Bill 2662 spells out new minimum requirements for the position — none of which McKay satisfies — that will limit…
If Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton gets his way, all police officers in the city will be outfitted with body-worn cameras within the next three years. In a joint statement with Councilwoman Thelma Williams, Stanton said he is officially asking City Manager Ed Zuercher to include the funding for such a…
Advocates for transgender rights set the Internet afire with rage this weekend after Mesa police identified a 24-year-old transgender man who was shot and killed by police as a woman. Kayden Clarke, named by police and, subsequently, the media (Including New Times), as Danielle Jacobs, started asking friends and family to…
Two Mesa police officers who shot and killed a 24-year-old woman with Asperger’s syndrome have been placed on administrative leave while officials investigate, it was announced today. “We don’t know at this point why they made the decision to go lethal,” police spokesman Esteban Flores told reporters. Three officers went…
Two trouble-making teens from a Tempe trailer park stand accused of nearly killing passengers in two cars with rifle fire. Ivan Dominguez, 18, and an unnamed 15-year-old were arrested and booked into jail on Thursday night in connection with the crime. Detective zeroed in on the boys one day after…
An unknown shooter targeted two cars randomly on a Tempe street on Wednesday night, Tempe police say, injuring no one but sparking a call to the public for information. The shootings come several months after Governor Doug Ducey famously tweeted “We got him!” following the arrest of a suspect accused…
Six months after a huge public outcry about the number of children sleeping in the Department of Child Safety’s Phoenix office buildings inspired the agency to open a 24-hour emergency placement center, the department is announcing the center will close, and that some kids in state care will probably have…
Justin LaClere, 33, was sentenced to 60 days in jail for “luring a minor for sexual exploitation,” a class 3 felony, and “sexual conduct with a minor,” a class 6 felony — charges that often carry a two- to seven-year sentence. A seven-year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department, LaClere…
